El mezquite es una planta del género Prosopis que se distribuye en áreas desérticas y semidesérticas de México. Su papel ecológico destaca por su capacidad de fijar nitrógeno y de fertilizar los suelos. Las semillas se usan para la alimentación animal y humana debido a sus propiedades nutricionales. Los extractos del mezquite se emplean en la medicina tradicional y farmacológica para el tratamiento de enfermedades crónicas como la diabetes. Sin embargo, la relevancia clínica del mezquite se le atribuye al polen, por la reacción alérgica que causa en las personas principalmente de las zonas desérticas de México. Las condiciones ambientales y atmosféricas influyen en su dispersión y al depositarse en la superficie del polen partículas asociadas a la contaminación ambiental, se incrementa su capacidad alergénica. Aunque varias proteínas alergénicas del polen del mezquite se han inmunodetectado, aún son muy pocas las identificadas, lo que limita el diseño de nuevas estrategias diagnósticas y terapéuticas. Por lo anterior, el objetivo de esta revisión es presentar lo que se conoce sobre la planta mediante una búsqueda bibliográfica en PubMed y Google Académico de artículos publicados a partir de los años 2000 al 2021, y fuentes relevantes más antiguas que hacen énfasis en la propiedad alergénica del polen del mezquite, y fundamentar la influencia de la contaminación y el cambio climático en la alergenicidad de este polen en México,así como destacar la importancia de identificar las proteínas alergénicas que permitan implementar un diagnóstico y una inmunoterapia alérgeno-específica.
Velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina) is a native legume of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, contributing significantly to the desert ecosystem and playing key ecological roles. It is also an important cause of allergic respiratory disease widely distributed in the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mojave Deserts. However, no allergens from velvet mesquite pollen have been identified to date. Pollen proteins were extracted and analyzed by one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting using a pool of 11 sera from mesquite-sensitive patients as the primary antibody. IgE-recognized protein spots were identified by mass spectrometry and bioinformatics analysis. Twenty-four unique proteins, including proteins well known as pollen, food, airway, or contact allergens and four proteins not previously reported as pollen allergens, were identified. This is the first report on allergenic proteins in velvet mesquite pollen. These findings will contribute to the development of specific diagnosis and treatment of mesquite pollen allergy.
Background Interleukin (IL)-15 is a proinflammatory T-cell growth factor overexpressed in several autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Our initial strategy to neutralize the increased levels of IL-15 consisted in a vaccine candidate based on the recombinant modified human IL-15 (mhIL-15) mixed with the alum adjuvant. A previous study in non-human primates Macaca fascicularis has shown that vaccination induces neutralizing antibodies against native IL-15, without affecting animal behavior, clinical status, or the percentage of IL-15-dependent cell populations. However, the mhIL-15 used as an antigen was active in the IL-2-dependent cytotoxic T-cell line CTLL-2, which could hinder its therapeutic application. The current article evaluated the immunogenicity in African green monkeys of a vaccine candidate based on IL-15 mutant D8SQ108S, an inactive form of human IL-15. Results IL-15 D8SQ108S was inactive in the CTLL-2 bioassay but was able to competitively inhibit the biological activity of human IL-15. Immunization with 200 µg of IL-15 mutant combined with alum elicited anti-IL-15 IgG antibodies after the second and third immunizations. The median values of anti-IL-15 antibody titers were slightly higher than those generated in animals immunized with 200 µg of mhIL-15. The highest antibody titers were induced after the third immunization in monkeys vaccinated with 350 µg of IL-15 D8SQ108S. In addition, sera from immunized animals inhibited the biological activity of human IL-15 in CTLL-2 cells. The maximum neutralizing effect was observed after the third immunization in sera of monkeys vaccinated with the highest dose of the IL-15 mutant. These sera also inhibited the proliferative activity of simian IL-15 in the CTLL-2 bioassay and did not affect the IL-2-induced proliferation of the aforementioned T-cell line. Finally, it was observed that vaccination neither affects the animal behavior nor the general clinical parameters of immunized monkeys. Conclusion Immunization with inactive IL-15 D8SQ108S mixed with alum generated neutralizing antibodies specific for human IL-15 in African green monkeys. Based on this fact, the current vaccine candidate could be more effective than the one based on biologically active mhIL-15 for treating autoimmune disorders involving an uncontrolled overproduction of IL-15.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.